What a fun book!  James is a very picky eater – most families have one.  Dad needs to get inventive to entice his son to try meals.  Divided into 5 chapters, in the first, James is encouraged to eat broccoli or choose between the finest dirt, walked on by only the best chefs wearing deluxe boots, fastidiously already-chewed gum, or a smelly sock worn by the world’s fastest marathon runner.  He tries smelly mushroom lasagna so Dad won’t fire the troll in the basement.  Refusing to drink repulsive milk would have the undesirable result of soft bones, which would mean he could not play baseball with friends or even scratch his dog.  By the end of the book, James is suspicious of another underhanded trick by Dad to get him to try the slimy eggs until he decides to try them simply because he might like them.  The watercolor, pen, and ink illustrations are humorous and are a wonderful match to this amusing story of a very picky eater.  This provides a smooth transition into chapter books for those resisting the move away from picture books.